CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT #3
I focused on her clit, sucking it into my mouth while my fingers slid back inside her. She was so close I could feel her tightening around my fingers, her thighs trembling on either side of my head.
"Come for me," I commanded against her pussy. "Let me taste you when you come."
She shattered with a cry, her body convulsing as an orgasm crashed through her. I felt her pulsing around my fingers, felt the gush of wetness, and I licked her through it, drawing out every tremor.
When she finally went limp, I pressed one last kiss to her inner thigh, then moved up her body to gather her against me.
"That was…" she started, then couldn't finish.
"Good?" I asked, unable to keep the satisfied smirk off my face.
"Incredible," she said. "Where did you even get that idea?"
"I've had months to think about all the ways I want to make you come apart," I admitted. "Tonight seemed like the right time to try some of them."
She laughed, the sound breathless and happy. "What else have you been thinking about?"
"So many things." I kissed her forehead. "But first, let me clean you up."
I grabbed a towel from the kitchen, gently wiping the wine from her skin. She watched me with soft eyes, her body loose and sated.
"Better?" I asked when I was done.
"Mmm." She reached for me, pulling me down for a kiss. "But now it's your turn."
"My turn?"
"You're still dressed," she pointed out, her hands already working my shirt buttons. "That doesn't seem fair."
I helped her strip off my clothes, and when I was finally naked, she pushed me back onto the couch and straddled me.
"My turn to play," she said with a wicked smile, reaching for the wine bottle.
Palisade
He'd done something I'd never experienced, and it had been transcendent. The cold wine inside me, his hot mouth cleaning it out, the combination of sensations that had short-circuited my brain completely.
Now it was my turn.
I straddled him, the wine bottle in my hand, watching his cock stand thick and hard between us. I tilted the bottle carefully, letting wine drip onto his chest.
He hissed at the sensation, his abs flexing. I leaned down and licked it off his skin, following the trail of wine down his stomach. When I reached the base of his cock, I paused.
"Can I?" I asked, my hand wrapping around his length.
"Fuck yes," he groaned. "Anything you want."
I dripped wine along his shaft, watching it run down the length of him. Then I licked it off slowly, from base to tip, my tongue swirling around the head.
"Sadie," he groaned, his hands fisting in my hair. "That's— fuck, that feels incredible."
I took him into my mouth properly, tasting wine and salt and him. His hips bucked involuntarily, and I had to brace my hands on his thighs to keep control.
"I need to be inside you," he said after a moment, his voice strained. "Now, Sadie. I need you now."
I released him and positioned myself over his cock. We both groaned as I sank down onto him, taking him inch by inch until he was fully buried inside me.
"Perfect," he said, his hands gripping my hips. "You feel perfect."
I moved, finding a rhythm that had us both gasping. His hands guided my movements, lifting and pulling me down with that athletic strength that made me feel both powerful and possessed.
"That's it," he encouraged. "Take what you need. Use me."
I did, riding him harder, chasing another orgasm that was building embarrassingly fast. The angle hit perfectly, and combined with how sensitive I already was from the wine play, I was climbing rapidly.
"I'm close," I gasped.
"Not yet." His hand moved between us, thumb finding my clit. "Together. I want us to come together."
He rubbed tight circles while I moved on him, and within moments, we were both right on the edge.
"Now," he commanded. "Come with me, Sadie."
I came apart with a cry, my body clenching around him as pleasure exploded through me. He followed immediately, his cock pulsing inside me as he came, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to leave marks.
We collapsed together on the couch, both breathing hard, our bodies sticky with sweat and wine.
"We're a mess," I observed, laughing breathlessly.
"Best kind of mess," he agreed, kissing my shoulder. "Shower?"
"Yes, please."
I woke up to sunlight streaming through unfamiliar curtains, momentarily disoriented until the events of last night came flooding back.
Easton's memory box. The silver bracelet still circled my wrist. The way he looked at me when he confessed he'd kept every memento of our brief time together seven years ago.
The space beside me was empty, but I could hear movement in the kitchen—the quiet clink of mugs, the subtle hiss of the coffee maker. I stretched languidly, my body pleasantly sore in ways that reminded me of how thoroughly we'd reconnected last night.
Wrapping myself in Easton's discarded dress shirt from yesterday, I padded barefoot toward the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to take in the sight before me.
Easton stood at the stove in sweatpants, his broad back to me as he flipped pancakes with the concentrated precision he brought to all things.
Morning light caught the definition of his shoulders, highlighting the muscles that shifted beneath his skin as he moved.
"You're staring," he said without turning around, a smile clear in his voice.
"Can you blame me?" I replied, stepping into the kitchen. "The view is pretty spectacular."
He turned, spatula in hand, his eyes warming as he took in my appearance in his shirt. "Yours isn't so bad either."
I moved to the coffee pot, pouring myself a cup before hopping up to sit on the counter beside the stove.
This felt strange, yet normal. We'd been living together for months, of course, but always as careful co-parents maintaining appropriate boundaries for Casey's sake.
This morning was different. Like a beginning.
"Did you sleep okay?" Easton asked, sliding a plate of pancakes onto the counter.
"Better than I have in years," I admitted, accepting the fork he offered. "Though I'm not sure how much of that was actually sleeping."
His grin was boyish and smug all at once. "No complaints here."
We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, stealing glances at each other between bites. A silent conversation lingered between us, thick with unspoken words.
"Casey texted while you were asleep," Easton said, setting down his coffee mug. "Apparently, Lily's mom is taking them to the new indoor water park today. She wanted to know if it was okay."
"What did you tell her?"
"That she needed to check with you, too, but I thought it would be fine." He paused, watching my reaction. "I hope that was okay. I didn't want to overstep."
The consideration in his voice touched me. Despite everything between us, Easton was remarkably respectful of my role as Casey's primary parent, never trying to undermine my authority even as he built his own relationship with our daughter.
"It's more than okay," I assured him. "I'm glad she feels comfortable asking you for permission, too. That's… that's how it should be."
His expression shifted. His eyes softened around the edges. "I never thought I'd have this," he admitted, his voice low. "A daughter. A family. You."
The vulnerability in his voice took me by surprise. This was Easton Henley laying his heart bare over breakfast pancakes.
"I never thought I'd have this either," I replied, the truth heavy in the air. "After keeping Casey from you for so long, I didn't think forgiveness was possible, let alone… this."
Easton set his plate aside and moved to stand between my knees, where I still perched on the counter. His hands settled on my thighs, warm and steady.
"I meant what I said at the lookout," he told me, his eyes holding mine. "This is just the beginning. Forever, Sadie. That's what I want with you."
He traced small circles on my thigh through the shirt. "I know we said we'd take our time, and we will. But last night, showing you that box… I need you to understand that you were never just some girl I picked up at a bar seven years ago. You were never just anything to me."
"I know," I said, my hand covering his. "Last night showed me that. Moving in together, building this life has shown me that."
"Good," he said, leaning closer. "Because I'm going to marry you someday, Palisade Honors.
Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next month.
But I'm going to ask, and when I do, I want you to know it's not because of Casey, or the media, or anything else.
It's because I choose you. I've been choosing you since that first night, even when I didn't know it. "
I studied his face, searching for any signs of doubt or obligation. Finding none, I placed my palm against his cheek, feeling the slight stubble beneath my fingers.
"I'm not saying no," I told him, my fingers threading through his hair. "I said yes to forever at the lookout, didn't I? This is… us continuing to build that foundation. Making sure Casey's secure, making sure we're solid. I want to do this right."
"We will," he promised, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "We already are."
As his lips found mine in a kiss that quickly deepened, I wrapped my legs around his waist, drawing him closer. The breakfast dishes were forgotten as he lifted me from the counter, my legs locked around him as he carried me back toward the bedroom.